Don Baker Knihy

Tasan Chong Yagyong (1762-1836) stands out as one of Korea's most innovative thinkers, a pioneering Christian, and a prominent Confucian scholar. Raised in a deeply Neo-Confucian society, he became intrigued by Catholic writings in his twenties. However, upon discovering the Church's condemnation of certain Confucian practices, he distanced himself from the Catholic community he had helped establish. Despite this, the Christian ideas he encountered continued to shape his perspective, prompting him to critically assess Neo-Confucianism and propose new solutions to longstanding issues in Confucian thought. The text presents an annotated translation of Tasan's commentaries on the Confucian classic Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean), where he integrates Confucian and Christian principles to explore moral character development. Written as a dialogue with King Chongjo (r. 1776-1800), these commentaries reveal Tasan's interpretation of Confucianism and its approach to morality, while the king's inquiries reflect the mainstream Neo-Confucianism Tasan critiqued. He argued against the non-theistic standard, emphasizing that moral living requires motivation to overcome selfishness. Although he had renounced his faith by the time of writing, Tasan sought a more effective moral framework than that offered by Neo-Confucianism, ultimately constructing a philosophy centered on belief in God. This translation, with contextual annotations,